good looks,lot of extras,subwoofer pre-out,good radio reception,digital+DTS,digital ins,S-VHS...

remote is hard to get used to...

At first I was very dissapointed with the amount of hiss. I visited service two times,and they had no idea what was going on - they told me that the receiver is o.k. I was going nuts because of money I gave for it.Third time
(after 2 months of hissing) went to another service and they fixed it in few days,saying that Sony admitted that they did something wrong long time ago.So much about quality of service here... Now I am quite satisfied with it.
I don't own a DVD so I never used digital or dts,but watching movies on Sony hi-fi stereo VCR is good too.
Listening to CD's is good too.
And the remote is not that bad ias people say.Just takes some time to get used to,but it is vey practical when having all Sony components.

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Technics

build quality , surround mix it gives you the feeling of being in the cinema , compact , price

difficult remote , very litle hiss

This is a very good reciever , if you wont spend alot of money but you want a good reciever for movies take the str-de545 . It has enough power to fill your room [large or small] whit a good cinema blast . How much low you have depends on what kind of loudspeakers you have . I have the sa-va505 and it sounds very good maybey a litle to much hi but you can turn the hi a litle lower whit the treble controler . I can talk alot about this machine but i say
!!!! BUY ONE FOR YOUR SELF !!!!


ps. sorry for my bad Enlish

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pioneer vsx 709 , sony str-de445

In regards to the hissing: I bought this receiver open boxed at Best Buy in January. I always had problems with the hiss, but the room where it was being used was big enough where the hiss died before it reached my ears. However, I recently moved it into a smaller room and the hiss was drowning out any output at low volume. I called up Sony and they are currently fixing my receiver for free and mailing it back to my house for free as well. All Sony receivers have a 2 year parts and labor warranty, so every single 545 is still under warranty since it is only last years model. They still put it under warranty even though I don't have my receipt anymore. If the hiss bothers you then i recommend bringing it in to a Sony Service Center and getting it repaired for free. Other than that this receiver has been nothing but spectacular.

None really. If i have to say a Weakness i would say the heat and the fact that the bass/treble is 2db.

I heard all those who complain about the Hiss. I got the SONY STR – DE545 and a pear of B&W 602 S2. I must say that the hiss is unnoticeable. Mine combination delivers me a great result of sound...I am very satisfied. In fact, it’s a normal hiss. I cant hear a noice that > your sound. Search for your problem elsewhere...It maybe your pear of Speakers or the cables. I hope that i helped with my state those who have the intention of buying this really good product. A good choise for me, especially for those people who cant spend a lot of money to buy a good machine.Thank you,Vaggelis

Low Price, Attractive, A+B, DTS

Clips during any action movie to the point of making it unusable for movies.

This unit has been fine for CDs, but for movies it REALLY is bad. It clips (PROTECT) during any gun shots, bangs, etc... I would say even at low levels it clips during 60+% of movies. I now only use it for music. The clipping happens even with just 2 speakers (as well as with 4 for surround). Needless to say, I wouldn't recommend SONY to anyone- saving money doesn't help you if you can't use the receiver.

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None, learned a lesson and upgraded

DTS decoder, DSP modes, Its a Sony, Flexible setup capabilities, Price, A+B Speakers, 4 ohm capable, Nice Blue Light ;)

The God Damn Hiss!! Sometimes the blue light can be distracting, Bad Remote Ergonomics, Cheap speaker terminals, No S-Video inputs for Video.

I guess I'm not the only person who wanted a HT in a small room, but my room might be the smallest room. Imagine this..my room is about the size of a handicap toleit stall. thats how small it is. I did not do any research before I purchased this reciever, but i wasn't completely disappointed. The hiss, like everyone is talking about does exsist. I am pretty much an audiophile so I know what I am talking about. The static/ hiss is and can be very disturbing at some points, expecially using 5.1 channel modes. But this can be solved I have personally found out that earlier models suffered Processor problems, I have contacted Sony, but they did not admit such problem. My reciever is currently in for repairs. ( for the third time)
This reciever is good for someone to start with, someone who doesn't need a lot of power, and doesn't know what good sound soounds like. Its fun to play with, with features you would not expect with competitors. As for me, this reciever is OK I mean its a little bit under powered..no way its 100 watts per channel, maybe only if you try hard..but that'll probably clip the amp. Its good for movies, not at night tho..thanks to the hiss...I like the Studio A the best. Its uncomparble to my Denon of course but i was only looking for something simple and cheap for my room. The power is okay...don't expect this thing to be loud at all..I think this is more like 60 - 70 watts because my 75 watt Yamaha can blow this thing. But got to keep in mind the Yamaha is HIgh Current. Its powerful considering the size of my room. I wasn't ready to spend a lot of money on a nice DVD player so, I just found one in my garage, a Panasonic RV30..the only complaint I have it does not have a Coax output..but thats not the recievers fault.
I am not dricing exspensive speakers on this reciever I have tried listening to a pair of my PSB IMAGE4T on this reciever..and it sounded like 100 dollal Jensens. I wouldn't drive expsensive speakers on this reciever. I would recomend getting a package of Micro speakers if you have a small room. The Energy Take5+1 is a good choice annd its only 793 canadian. The increments on the Bass and treble controls are too big they should at least be 1db per incremenrt. So is the Volume..Can't fine tune it. Oh well. I would recommend this to anyone, but get it as a open box or used from someone who is selling it because of displeasure and simply bring to service solve the hiss problem and its a perfectly good reciever. and btw the remote does suck.

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Yamaha RXV420, Technics SADX750, Marantz SR4200, Denon AVR1802

good sound,digital&DTS,digital inputs,all-in-one remote,great looks...

none really

At first I was dissapointed with the hiss,but I got it fixed in a Sony service. There was still some hiss till I bought my new Sony SSM 500H front speakers. The problem was the impedance: it needs atleast 8 Ohm to work fine,and my old ones were 4! Small surround speakers are Sony,too.Now I am completely satisfied.I use Sony Hi-Fi stereo VCR,and for DVD's there is PS2 connected optical,so I am using it's decoders. Superb sound,especially in Cinema mode C which has the best dinamic and bass.Playing CD's is really good too (Sony CDP-XE800),and FM tuner has good reception. Some say that the power rating is overestimated,but that is not true.I even used it for smaller partys where it was loud, cool and stable,pumping the bass whole night long.For that price you can't find better!

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sony,technics

Low Price, Good Processing, DTS, Numerous sound fields, Its a Sony.

The hiss, a bit under power, the remote doesn't glow,

This Reciever is a good reciever, either than the hiss because of a bad processor, this is actually quite a good choice, at first I experienced the hiss, but after contacting Sony, I took it in for service, and now it is a really nice reciever, that gives out good clean sound. Not like a Harmon Kardon good sound, but nice. The 545 seems to be under powered since Sony has a different design than other companies like Pioneer or Kenwood, although these companies's recievers may seem to have more power the Sony design is actually better, since brands like Kenwood or Pioneer do the processing of all 5 channels together, while Sony seperates them to smaller sections, so the result is better sound,but under powered, therefore making other brands seem to have better low frequencies, and that is probably why the 545 lacks bass and power. All can be solved with a subwooofer over 10 inches. While having better bass helps for better mids and highs on your other speakers,adding a subwoofer may increase distortion. A well trade off. There is no way that this reciever is 100 watts per channel, I have wattage amperage tool, that lets me connect the tool directly to the reciever, in result of this I measure that the 545's actually wattage is 65 to about 76 watts. This reicever isn't the kind that you would want to have really loud, because of lack of power and current. If you want a loud reciever I would suiggest a High Current reciever which allows you to listen at louder levels with less distortion. But if you just want a reciever in your dorm or if yoou have a small room, and don't need all the power, this reciever may be a good idea, if you have a 545 that hissses it is probably a good idea to bring it to repair, since all 545s are still on warranty. It'll probably take 1 or 2 weeks at max.

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Yamaha, Pioneer, Technics, Denon,Kenwood, Harmon Kardon

Low Price, Good Processing, DTS, Numerous sound fields, Its a Sony.

The hiss, a bit under power, the remote doesn't glow,

This Reciever is a good reciever, either than the hiss because of a bad processor, this is actually quite a good choice, at first I experienced the hiss, but after contacting Sony, I took it in for service, and now it is a really nice reciever, that gives out good clean sound. Not like a Harmon Kardon good sound, but nice. The 545 seems to be under powered since Sony has a different design than other companies like Pioneer or Kenwood, although these companies's recievers may seem to have more power the Sony design is actually better, since brands like Kenwood or Pioneer do the processing of all 5 channels together, while Sony seperates them to smaller sections, so the result is better sound,but under powered, therefore making other brands seem to have better low frequencies, and that is probably why the 545 lacks bass and power. All can be solved with a subwooofer over 10 inches. While having better bass helps for better mids and highs on your other speakers,adding a subwoofer may increase distortion. A well trade off. There is no way that this reciever is 100 watts per channel, I have wattage amperage tool, that lets me connect the tool directly to the reciever, in result of this I measure that the 545's actually wattage is 65 to about 76 watts. This reicever isn't the kind that you would want to have really loud, because of lack of power and current. If you want a loud reciever I would suiggest a High Current reciever which allows you to listen at louder levels with less distortion. But if you just want a reciever in your dorm or if yoou have a small room, and don't need all the power, this reciever may be a good idea, if you have a 545 that hissses it is probably a good idea to bring it to repair, since all 545s are still on warranty. It'll probably take 1 or 2 weeks at max.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Pioneer, Technics, Denon,Kenwood, Harmon Kardon

All the decoding capability you would ever want. 5x100w. Easy interface with plenty of sound field settings.

The remote does suck. Rear channel volume not as powerful as I wuold like.

I was looking for a HT receiver that was affordable and powerful. This receiver is both. I have read an awful lot of reviews slamming this receiver for the hiss. The hiss is/was a problem that SONY has recognized. Some of the earlier models had processor problems. However, given that SONY has such a generous warranty on the product, it is quite easy to have it fixed. In fact I have bought 2 other of the same receivers off of E-bay, quite cheap, that were being sold due to user displeasure. I turned them around with the warranty still intact, had them fixed, and gave them to family members who were starting their own home theaters. They are all completely satisfied with this receiver.
I have run at least 3 completely different speaker sets through this thing and have yet to find a bad set-up.
The only complaint that I do have is that I wish that the rear speaker levels could be turned up to match the front channels better. I have fixed this problem, simply by spacing the speakers accordingly.
I am assuming that if you are reading this review, then you are either checking on the SONY you bought, or are looking to buy. Don't be dissapointed by some of the negative reviews on this site.
If you happen to buy one of these receivers and it happens to hiss..the price, and performance that this receiver is capable of, will outweigh the hassle of having it repaired.
I would recommend this receiver to an enthusiast on a budget...
It's not like were talking about Onkyo, Nakamichi, or Harmon Kardon here...If we were, we wouldn't be visiting the SONY page would we? You will get more than what you paid for with the DE545.

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Technics, Onkyo, Dennon receivers.